The Relation of The Mind To The Body

Confusion arises whenever something exists but the source cannot be traced or is completely unknown. The mind, without which we cannot be conscious and for that matter we will not exist can be likened to a luminant object. It guides the body, communicates with the body and maintains the body in this physical world. In fact the body is simply a peripheral of the mind just as keyboards and monitors are simply peripherals of the system unit of a computer. The mind is the main proof of our existence and it is the organism within the larger organism.

It is important that whatever ideas, thoughts or emotions are produced in the mind be consistent with the organisms basic biological constitution and function. In other words a deer who behaves like a dog will experience problems since it has a ruminating stomach whereas a dog does not have one. But in actuality, such cases of mismatch of mind and matter are extremely rare. The matter in the organism almost always matches the function of its mind as a unit of the whole, right from the moment of cell division.

The mind is also a tool for negotiation and survival. We probably negotiate a hundred times a day on the average with friends, family, spouses, co-workers etc. Here I am not speaking of negotiating a contract but rather negotiating emotional needs. You have to give up something in order to gain something usually of a pressing importance – that’s negotiation. Through memes and sometimes personal experiences, one may be a better negotiator than another. But the mind is capable of learning just about anything.

Followers of Scientology, many of whom believe they are aliens trapped inside a human body through a process called ‘assumption’ are simply experiencing mind – body incongruousness. In other words, they believe their body does not fit or is not compatible with their thoughts and desires and since the mind is the true self they therefore reject their physical body, so to speak. Similarly, someone who desires to be a model or a basketball player but who is markedly short/unattractive may also end up rejecting his or her body.

Bottomline is this: one ought to accept oneself before one can accept others and ultimately the world. Whoever does not love him or herself will always fail at loving others. It begins with you.